Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-02
THE SLAYER OF SIXTEEN MEN
Faro Ed of Texas Pays Gotham a vista
Duel to the Death.
New York Mail and Express

New York Mail and Express
A well-dressed man walked into ore
of the fashionable uptown hotels las
Tuesday He carried in his hand large
valise, which he refused to hand over tC
any of the waiting hall boys. When he
reached the desk ne put the vslise be
tween his legs and registered as Edward
Smith of Coreso Springs, Tex. Although
the clerk had no idea who BIr
Smith was, his appearance commanded
respect, and he was at once shown into g
I handsome apartment overlooking Fifth
avenue There was nothing about the
strangers dress to tell that he came from
the Lone Star Stnte. His hair
was OF the conventional length. He
wore high silk hat. His
clothes were of fashionable make,
and he wore gloves, yet everyone turned
to look at him. He was tall, apparently
forty-fve years old, with grizzled
mustache and iron gray hair. There was
no color in his bronZed face. His light
blue eyes, however, were his most remark
able feature. They were restless and pierre
ing to q singular degree. His face was
one that could not easily be forgotten.
Yet its owner remained st the hotel until
yesterday without being known. Just
before he left for Texas last evening he
was recognized By man who lived in the
southwest for many years, who gave 8
Mail and Express reporter the following
remarkable fants: He is known in Tex
as as Ed Smith, alias Faro Ed, whose
career he's been marked by q trail
of blood. Nothing is known of his early
history, but il is supposed from his gen.
tlemanlY manners and cultivated way of
speaking that he belonged to good fam
lily, and changed his name because Of
some youthful trouble. He killed his
first man In Denver nearly twenty years
ago. One day tall, green-loOking youth,
evidently a tender-foot, rode into that
town and registered ct the United States
hotel. he placed bag of gold in the
hotel safe, and at once became an object
of interest to ell the gamblers in town.
For some time he could not be induced
to play cards. At last, however, he was
decoyed into Jim Moore's saloon, and
when he left the faro table he had
parted with his last cent. The next day
the Ihotel clerk, learning Of his losses,
asked him to pay his hotel bill. This he
could not do. He was therefore ordered
to leave. While was wandering through
the streets he saw the gambler who had
won his money eating an expensive din
ner and drinking wine in the highest
priced restaurant in Denver. After
moments hesitation he went in and told
the gambler be was hungry and penniless,
and asked for 81 out of the thousands he
had lost.
The gambler laughed at him. Smith,
for the tenderfoot was the now famous
gambler, looked the man in the face and
said: "If l can't eat. l swear, sir, you
shSa't." Promptly drawing revolver he
calmly shot the gambler through the heart.
There was no organized police force IN
Denver then, but Smith walked to
Jail at once and gave himself
up. The shooting excited much inter-
est, and Smith would have been released
Immediately hsd the gamblers not deter
mined to hang him. One night Smiths
cell door was opened. He was told he
would find horse waiting at the gate,
and he had better make his way out of
Colorado as fast as possible. When his
escape was made public the gamblers
were furious, and Bill Stevens, who had
been the partner of the murdered gam
bier, sBore he would kill Smith If he had
to wait ten years:
Smith next came into public notice two
years later in Austin, Texas. He had
evidently made good use of his time, for
when he arrived there he had large
sum Of money with him. He took a